Amazon is preparing to launch a new marketplace that would let publishers sell their articles, videos, and other digital content to companies building artificial intelligence tools. According to a report from The Information on February 10, 2026, AWS has been distributing materials that mention a “content marketplace” ahead of an upcoming publishers’ conference. Internal slides show this marketplace would be bundled with core AI tools like Bedrock and Quick Suite, though an Amazon spokesperson declined to confirm anything specific.
Amazon’s AWS is developing a content marketplace to connect publishers with AI companies seeking licensed training data for their models.
The purpose is straightforward: connect publishers who own content with AI companies that need training data. As generative AI becomes more common, these companies require massive amounts of text and media to teach their systems. Publishers would get paid based on how much their content gets used in model training or AI outputs. This addresses ongoing debates about AI tools using copyrighted material without permission or payment. Index funds provide a model for pooled, passive approaches to large asset collections, and publishers could similarly benefit from diversification of licensing channels.
The timing makes sense given growing conflicts between publishers and tech firms. AI-powered search and chat services are reducing the number of people who actually visit publisher websites, which cuts into their readership and advertising revenue. Several legal disputes are underway, and many publishers have started blocking AI companies from scraping their sites without authorization.
Amazon already has experience in this arena. The company pays The New York Times over $20 million annually for content used in Alexa. These existing relationships could give Amazon an advantage as it builds out the marketplace. One major publisher reportedly earned $2 million in the first quarter of 2026 from AI licensing deals, showing there’s real money involved for early participants.
Amazon isn’t alone in pursuing this opportunity. Microsoft recently launched its own Publisher Content Marketplace as a licensing hub where publishers can define usage terms. These platforms are becoming battlegrounds over training data and how AI companies compensate content creators. The integration of generative AI into search, enterprise tools, and consumer applications is increasing demand for content licensing controls. The platform is designed to provide visibility into content usage by AI firms as part of the marketplace terms offered to publishers.
As of February 10, 2026, Amazon remains in the exploration phase. The initiative surfaced in talks with media publishers but hasn’t officially launched. It could eventually become part of AWS’s broader offerings as demand for licensed training data continues growing.
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